Roger Viets
Rev. Roger Viets (March 9, 1738 - August 15, 1811) was a Canadian poet and cleric, who wrote the earliest poem published in Canada. Life Viets was born in Simsbury (later Granby), Connecticut, the second of four children of Lois (Phelps) and John Viets, a Presbyterian family. He attended school at Salmon Brook, Connecticut, and then entered Yale College where he studied for the Church of England. Graduating in 1758, he became a lay reader at St. Andrews Church in Simsbury. In 1763 he was ordained in London and appointed missionary to Simsbury.Thomas B. Vincent, “Viets, Roger," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, volume 5, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Web, Oct. 28, 2016. He supported the loyalist side during the American Revolution, and was jailed in 1776. In 1785 he applied for a ministry in Nova Scotia, and was assigned to Digby. He visited Digby in July 1786, returned to Connecticut in October for his family, and was back in Digby by June 1787. He was a popular preacher, who always fulfilled his religious responsibilities, but was criticized by some for engaging in commercial trading. He and his parishioners built Trinity Church, Digby, in 1791. He died in Digby of "quick consumption" (probably pneumonia), and was buried in an unmarked grave outside the east window of Trinity Church. Writing Viets published a number of sermons, plus a poem, Annapolis-Royal. Published in 1788, Annapolis-Royal was the 1st poem to be published in what would become Canada."Roger Viets," Canadian Poetry: From the beginnings through the First World War (edited by Carol Gerson & Gwendolyn Davies). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart (New Canadian Library), 1994, 35. Print. Publications Poetry *''Annapolis-Royal: A poem'' (pamphlet). Halifax, 1788 **(with introduction by Thomas B. Vincent). Kingston, ON: Loyal Colonies Press, 1979. Non-fiction *''A Sermon: Preached in St. Andrew's Church, Simsbury ... on April 9th, 1784''. Hartford, CT: Hudson & Goodwin, 1787. *''A Serious Address and Farewell Charge: To the members of the Church of England in Simsbury and the adjacent parts''. Hartford, CT: printed by Hudson & Goodwin, 1787. *''A Sermon: On the duty of attending the public worship of God; preached at Digby in Nova-Scotia, April 19th, 1789''. Hartford, CT: printed by Hudson & Goodwin, 1789. *''A Sermon: Preached at Sissaboo, now called Weymouth, in Nova-Scotia, on the 15th October, 1797''. Saint John, NB: privately published, printed by John Ryan, 1799. *''A Sermon: Preached before the lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, at Granby . ... on the 9th July, 1800''. Hartford, CT: printed by Hudson & Goodwin, 1800. *''A Sermon: Preached in St. Peter’s Church, in Granby, formerly Simsbury ... on the 29th day of June 1800''. *''Records of Rev. Roger Viets: Rector of St. Andrews, Simsbury, Conn., and missionary from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1763–1800'' (edited by Albert Carlos Bates). Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood, & Brainard, 1893. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Roger Viets, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Oct. 28, 2016. See also *Colonial Canadian poets *List of Canadian poets *Timeline of Canadian poetry References External links ;About *Viets, Roger in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Category:1738 births Category:1811 deaths Category:18th-century poets Category:Canadian clergy Category:American clergy Category:Canadian poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:People from Connecticut Category:Colonial Canadian poets